Brad Richards would love it if the NHL general managers this week in their Florida meetings would take the first step toward
outlawing hits to the head.

Richards, who just returned after missing 10 games with concussion-like
symptoms, said his experience was a frustrating one.

He said that while sitting on his couch wondering what could
happen to his career, he was frustrated that Columbus forward Sami Pahlson
didn’t receive a penalty or a warning or any statement that what he did was
wrong. Pahlson elbowed Richards in the jaw near the end of a game Feb. 1.

“Nothing was called and nothing was done, but he threw his elbow into my jaw
as he was going past,” Richards said of the hit that could have easily been
reviewed by the league. “Nobody skates with his elbow up at head level, and my
head wasn’t down at his waist.”

As a result, Richards would like to see a rule put in place to make hits to the head illegal and eligible for
supplementary discipline on review.

“Look, I understand how difficult it is to officiate the game, and I know
that they are going to miss things. But with the amount of cameras and replays
we have, there is no reason for the league to miss anything,” he said. “So if a
hit is illegal in a game and it causes an injury, then the league should have to
take a look at it.

“How many times has that happened? How many times has a hit caused an injury
and yet the league does absolutely nothing about it?”

The Stars have had a few in recent weeks. Anaheim’s Brad Winchester skated
across the ice at full speed and hit Jamie Langenbrunner in the face. No penalty
was called, but Langenbrunner missed the next game. Teams are hesitant to
complain to the league for fear of seeming like “whiners,” while players have
been conditioned to say nothing.

That means the league has to take the initiative with a big push from the NHL
Players Association. Richards is not alone in voicing his concern. Reigning Hart
Trophy winner Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks said the league has to send
the message of what’s allowed and what isn’t.

“It’s gotten to the point where you have to suspend guys if you hit the
head,” Sedin told The Vancouver Sun. “You have to do it even if guys say they
didn’t mean to do it or it’s an accident. You have to start somewhere. I don’t
think players know where the limit is. That’s the bottom line.”

Stars forward Steve Ott has had plenty of run-ins with the NHL regarding discipline and said he will support his fellow
players in cracking down on hits to the head.

“In the Ontario Hockey League, I know they have a two-minute penalty for any
hit to the head and then they work their discipline off of that,” Ott said. “I
definitely am fine with a rule like that, but I don’t think we want to go so far
as to take hitting out of the game. Hitting, fighting, those are things that
make our game exciting.”

Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk will be one of the voices at the meetings Monday
through Wednesday and said this will be an interesting discussion. The absence
of Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby to a concussion for half of the season, as well
as concussions to several star players, has brought the issue to the
forefront.

“I agree that there have been some plays that clearly should have been
reviewed, and nothing came of them,” Nieuwendyk said. “If the rules are there
already, then we should be doing everything to enforce them.”

And if the rules aren’t strong enough, then players like Richards believe
they have to push to get their message across.

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